The newest version of the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system is shipping now, due to arrive in retail stores by September 1, 2009 with a lowest-ever price of only $299.99. Amazon.com has them in stock and says they'll begin shipping the PS3 to customers as early as Friday (8/28). The redesigned PS3 hardware (Model # CECH-2000A) has drastically slimmed not only its price point but its physical size as well, coming in at about 11.4 inches square and only 2.6 inches high, and now tipping the scales at a mere seven pounds.
Compared to the very first PS3 model with the 60-gigabyte hard disk drive, the internal volume, the thickness and the total mass have been reduced by a third. And remember what a P-I-G this thing used to be with the juice? Well, power consumption is reportedly down by at least a third as well, which in turn will also reduce fan noise. The secret to the size of the new PS3 lies in its internal design architecture: Everything from the main semiconductors and power supply to the cooling mechanism has been completely rethought and reconfigured.
It's still a Blu-ray player of course, still black with some pretty distinctive curves, although the finish now features a textured surface. And while its new standard 120GB HDD is not as high-capacity as the currently available 160GB model, it is indeed double the capacity of that original PS3, in a form factor considerably more compact. In keeping with the new value philosophy, the current 80GB HDD unit will drop to a matching $299, while the 160GB model will now sell for $399. Storage has only become more important with the addition of more and more content downloadable via the PlayStation Network, which now offers more than 15,000 digital items, many for free.
Surely no coincidence, the PS3 system software update version 3.00 will be made available on September 1, too. The “What's New” screen will be introduced, helping users find what they're looking for more quickly. Of particular interest to owners of Sony TVs is the integrated BRAVIA Sync, which allows control of the PS3 system using the TV remote, provided the BRAVIA TV also supports this feature and is connected via an HDMI cable. System Standby will also turn off the PS3 system automatically when the BRAVIA TV is turned off.
And although not formally announced, we have heard reports (and we're awaiting confirmation from Sony Computer Entertainment America) that the new slim PS3 will pass the high-resolution Blu-ray audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio over HDMI as bitstream data, to be decoded by an outboard receiver. If so, that would make this first PS3 to ever offer this capability, something home theater enthusiasts have been clamoring for since Day One.
Now Available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com:
